Don't wait until it's too late

Friday

Jul 28, 2017 at 9:32 AMJul 28, 2017 at 1:32 PM

This past Tuesday, I found myself driving down the 'donut route,' that my father had driven often, years ago. The experience made me long for just one more ride with the old man. My father owned the Daylight Donut Shop in Alva, OK for over 20 years. His father owned it before him. At one [...]

brandoncase

This past Tuesday, I found myself driving down the 'donut route,' that my father had driven often, years ago. The experience made me long for just one more ride with the old man. My father owned the Daylight Donut Shop in Alva, OK for over 20 years. His father owned it before him. At one point, my father recognized a market for fresh donuts in the small towns of Cherokee, Burlington, and Waynoka, Oklahoma, which didn't have their own donut shop. So, he delivered donuts to these towns before going into work at his regular job with the state. Driving a portion of the route, I reflected upon all the miles he had driven, alone and often before the sun came up, to deliver donuts and provide for his family. His work ethic had always defined him, and a woman at the funeral I attended even mentioned it to me.I was driving the donut route to attend the funeral of a classmate of mine, LaDana. Kathie and I visited her many times over the years (though not much over the past year since her mother had died) in Great Bend, where she lived most of her adult life. LaDana had some significant challenges in her life. Her telephone calls to us had become less frequent over the past year, compared with other times when she would call three or more times a week. However, she called and left a message to call in the middle of last week. I tried to call her back, with no answer, and then got busy and hadn't tried to call again. Then, three days after her message she was found dead from a heart attack at her Great Bend residence.The takeaway from this is simple: don't wait too long. You never know when you, or someone else you love or care about, will be gone. So, do it today. Make that call. Visit that friend. Write that letter. Say what you want to say while you still have time to do so.